Constructive Disposition Used in the Construction of Buildings

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a modular construction system to be applied to buildings, comprising a steel structure composed by octagonal tubing that acts as external beams, octagonal tubing that acts as external beams, octagonal tubing that acts as internal beams, structural connections, cross members for the roof structure, a hollow roof ridge member, panels acting as structural walls and partitions, bracing plates to connect the panels, external finishing member and internal finishing member, whereas the whole structure is anchored to the floor. When creating an edge column to connect the panels to the steel structure, internal angular shaped bracing plates are used and external ones with a shape similar to letter “C”, provided with holes along the length for the bolts and connection slot to connect the external finishing member by means of internal clips with a rim for connection to the clamp through the recesses arranged in the interior. When there is a need to create an intermediate column in the junction of three panels, a bracing plate will be used which also has a connection slot to connect to the external finishing member, by means of internal clips, with a rim to connect to the clamp through the recesses arranged in the interior, internally connected by the bracing plates similar to the letter “T”, furthermore connected by the spacer, to finally receive the internal finishing member which has a shape similar to the letter “L”. In order to connect two panels to compose an intermediate column, two bracing plates will be used with a connection slot to connect to the external finishing member by means of internal clips, with a rim to connect to the clamp through the recesses arranged in its interior.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 11/008,696,filed Dec. 9, 2004, which claims priority to Brazilian Application No.MU8402490-9, filed Oct. 20, 2004, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a new constructive arrangement applied tobuildings, presenting a low cost and fast installation modular set-upusing the most recent materials and bearing characteristics thatfacilitate the adaptation to any site, offering high quality,durability, easy maintenance and possibilities of expansion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nowadays, all kinds of materials are used for the construction ofmodular housing, such as pre-cut wood, steel, concrete panels, drywalls, etc. However, this type of modular conventional construction hasthe inconvenience of mixing a great variety of materials, which somewhatcomplicates the construction process, sometimes requiring weldingoperations when the building structure is composed of steel tubing,generating noxious gases to the operators. In addition, the use ofcement aggravates the conditions of neatness of the job site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to present a modularconstruction system to be applied to buildings so as to facilitate andexpedite the erection of the building and reduce to the very minimum thehandling of parts and components. This result is achieved through a newbuilding conception, which uses a structure developed from octagonalcross section tubing, produced from hot rolled seamed structural steelwith adequate thickness. The structure also comprises roof trusses andpurlins and square steel plates to anchor the columns to the floor. Thetubular components are combined by means of octagonal connecting membersand bolts to assure perfect rigidity of the structure. Wall bracingplates connect thermo-acoustical and fire resistant panels to thetubular framework so as to assure full stability of the structure. Indeveloping this system, full attention was dedicated to assure the besttechnical use of each material, thus eliminating waste and reducing therequired resources during the construction/installation phases.

The proposed constructive arrangement offers the following advantageswhen compared with other conventional modular constructions:

-   -   The erection is developed in an ambient with a reduced number of        parts and components;    -   The construction process is so simple it does not require        skilled labor;    -   The number of construction steps is substantially reduced;    -   The job site is very clean due to the elimination of welding,        cement and plaster;    -   The workers are not exposed to noxious gases from welding and        grinding operations;    -   The environment is preserved since no waste is generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of this new constructive arrangement applied to buildings,as well as its advantages, are depicted in the following figures:

FIG. 1—perspective of the octagonal tubular structure, location of thecolumns, beams, support, connections and anchor plates of the truss andfloor;

FIG. 2—exploded view of the tubular structure;

FIG. 3—perspective of the octagonal tubular structure, location of thecolumns, beams, support, connections and truss anchor plates, floor androof ridge;

FIG. 4—perspective of the octagonal tubular structure, showing thecolumns, beams, support, connections, truss and purlin anchor plates forthe subsequent installation of the wall;

FIG. 5—perspectives of columns and base;

FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12—perspective of the connections to anchorthe columns, beams and construction support;

FIG. 13—perspective of the connections to anchor the edge supports forthe truss bearing;

FIG. 14—perspective of the beams to receive the intermediate supportsfor the trusses;

FIG. 15—perspective of the connection of the trusses to the intermediatesupports;

FIG. 16—perspective of the connection of the trusses to the roof ridge;

FIG. 17—perspective of the roof ridge connection;

FIG. 18—exploded view of the connection of the internal wall bracingplates;

FIG. 19—upper view of the connection of the bracing plates;

FIG. 20—perspective of the wall connection creating an edge column;

FIG. 21—upper view of the wall connection creating an edge column;

FIG. 22—upper view of the wall connection creating an edge column andconnection of the finishing member;

FIG. 23—exploded upper view of the wall connection assembly creating anedge column, clamp and finishing member;

FIG. 24—detail of the finishing member connection to the bracing plates;

FIG. 25—upper view of the wall connection creating an intermediatecolumn at the junction of three walls;

FIG. 26—exploded upper view of the wall connection assembly creating anintermediate column at the junction of three walls; and

FIG. 27—exploded upper view of the wall connection assembly creating anintermediate column at the junction of two walls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

According to FIGS. 1 to 27 the proposed constructive arrangement to beapplied to buildings comprises a steel structure (1) composed ofoctagonal tubing (2) which acts as columns, octagonal tubing (2′) actingas external beams, octagonal tubing (2″) acting as internal beams,structural connections (3), cross members (4) for the roof structure,hollow roof ridge members (5), panels (6) acting as structural walls andpartitions, bracing plates (7), (7′), (7″), (7′″), to fasten the panels(6), external finishing member (26), and internal finishing member (30),with the entire structure anchored to a floor (8).

The octagonal tubing (2) that acts as columns is provided with a base atthe lower end (9), with holes (10) for anchoring to the floor (8) or tothe roof ridge (5) of the construction through bolts (11), with locknuts (12) to connect and fasten the structural connections (3). Theoctagonal tubing (2′) that acts as external beams is provided withcurved supports (13), arranged so as to receive the cross members (4) ofthe roof, through holes (14), with ends provided with lock nuts (15) toconnect and fasten the structural connections (3). The octagonal tubing(2″) is also provided with lock nuts (15) for the structural connections(3).

The structural connections (3) shown in FIGS. 6 through 13, are designedto allow a perfect connection of the steel structure (1), with aprovision of holes at the ends (16) to connect to the octagonal tubing(2, 2′ and 2″) by means of bolts (17), while also considering that thestructural connection (3) applied over the octagonal tubing (2) whichacts as columns, has the same inclined support (13) with holes (14) toreceive the roof cross members (4), thus allowing for the necessarybracing of the steel structure (1).

The cross members (4), in their upper end, have an angled connectionarea (18) and holes (19) so as to allow the connection to the hollowroof ridge (5) by means of bolts (17) fastened to the lock nuts (20) ofthe hollow roof ridge (5) and slots (18′) to connect to the inclinedsupport (13) by means of bolts (17).

In the sequence we have the connection of the panels (6) to compose theexternal structural walls and construction partitions, which present theshape and dimension according to the module to be connected. That meansthe possibility of arranging a window, door or tilt window in a certainposition. When an edge column is created to connect the panels (6) tothe steel structure (1), internal bracing plates are used (7) providedwith external angled shapes (7′), which have a “C” shape with holesalong the length (21) for the bolts (22), and a connection slot (27),with a slightly curved end, to receive the external finishing member(26) through the internal clips (28) provided with a rim (31) to beconnected to the clamp (29), through the recesses (32) arranged in theinterior as illustrated in FIGS. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24.

When there is a need for an intermediate column in a junction of threepanels (6), a bracing plate will be used (7″) with a connection slot(27) to receive the external finishing member (26) through the internalclips (28), provided with a rim (31) to connect to the clamp (29)through the recesses (32) arranged in the interior, being internallyconnected by means of the bracing plates (7′″) with a “T” shape,furthermore connected by the spacer (23), to finally receive theinternal finishing member (30) with an “L” shape, as illustrated inFIGS. 25 and 26, connected to the structural steel (1) octagonal tubing(2′), by means of bolts (22). In order to connect two panels (6) tocompose an intermediate column, two bracing plates will be used (7″)with a connection slot (27) to receive the external finishing member(26) by means of internal clips (28) with a rim (31) to be connected tothe clamp (29) through recesses (32) arranged in the interior, asillustrated in FIG. 27.

As an example and obeying the order of connecting the internal bracingplate (7) to the octagonal tubing (2) we have the arrangement of thepanel (6) close to this junction, and then with completion of theconnection of the bracing plate (7′) with the connection of the externalfinishing member (26) by means of a connection slot (27), internal clips(28), provided with a rim (31) to be connected to the clamp (29) throughrecesses (32) arranged in the interior, allowing the connection of thepanels (6) to the steel structure (1) up to the construction closing andmodular partition, as illustrated in FIGS. 18 through 27.

1. A modular building comprising: a plurality of spaced-apart externalcolumns extending vertically upward from a floor to which a lower end ofeach of the columns is attached, the plurality of columns definingexternal sides of the building; a plurality of external beams joined toupper ends of the columns and being disposed about a perimeter of thesides of the building, wherein said columns and said external beams arecomposed of octagonal shaped tubing; a plurality of structuralconnections joining the columns to one or more of the external beams,the structural connections including two or more receiving membershaving octagonal shaped sidewalls for receiving the upper end of acolumn or an end of one of the external beams therein, wherein thereceiving members are configured and arranged in a perpendicularrelation with each other; a roof ridge member extending between twoopposite sides of the building along a length of the building, the roofridge member being disposed in an elevated position with respect to theexternal beams; a plurality of spaced-apart roof cross members disposedon opposite sides of the roof ridge member, the roof cross members eachextending laterally downward from the roof ridge member to an externalbeam, wherein the roof ridge member and the plurality of cross membersdefine a roof structure for the building; and a plurality ofspaced-apart inclined supports that are attached to one or more of theexternal beams or the upper end of one of the columns, each of theinclined supports including an inclined surface for receiving a lowerend of the roof cross member thereon.
 2. The modular building of claim1, further comprising a plurality of panels disposed between adjacentcolumns, the panels defining structural walls of the building.
 3. Themodular building of claim 2, further comprising an internal bracingplate and an external bracing plate for connecting the panels to thecolumns, wherein the internal and external bracing plates are attachedto the columns opposite each other and are configured and arranged toengage opposite surfaces of a panel disposed therebetween to therebyconnect the panels to the columns, and wherein the external bracingplate has a “C” shape.
 4. The modular building of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of internal columns and a plurality of internalbeams disposed in an internal portion of the building and composed ofoctagonal shaped tubing, wherein one or more of the internal beams arejoined to the external beams by one of said structural connections. 5.The modular building of claim 4, further comprising a plurality ofinternal panels disposed between adjacent external and internal columns,the internal panels defining internal walls of the building.
 6. Themodular building of claim 1, wherein the ends of each external beamincludes a bolt and the sidewall of each receiving member includes acorresponding hole, wherein the bolt and corresponding hole areconfigured and arranged to be aligned with each other when the end ofthe external beam is inserted into the receiving member such that thebolt is insertable through the hole for joining the external beam to thestructural connection.
 7. The modular building of claim 1, wherein theupper end of each column includes a bolt and the sidewall of eachreceiving member includes a corresponding hole, wherein the bolt andcorresponding hole are configured and arranged to be aligned with eachother when the end of the column is inserted into the receiving membersuch that the bolt can be inserted through the hole for joining thecolumn to the structural connection.
 8. The modular building of claim 6,wherein each external beam includes at least two bolts disposed onopposite sides of the octagonal tubing, and each receiving memberincludes at least two corresponding holes.
 9. The modular building ofclaim 1, wherein the structural connections include two or morereceiving members arranged in an L-like shape, T-like shape, orcross-like shape.